Few Out There Have the Courage to Truly Criticize President Obama

Mar 19, 2009

RUSH: Coach K, Mike Krzyzewski, the basketball coach at Duke found out that Obama did not pick his team to win the NCAA Final Four. ‘Somebody said we’re not in President Obama’s Final Four, and as much as I respect what he’s doing, really, the economy is something he should focus on, probably more than the brackets,’ Mike Krzyzewski told a reporter from the AP on Wednesday. Do you notice how everybody has to throw in — from Warren Buffett, I don’t care who they are — they have to throw in here, ‘I really respect what he’s doing, but.’ Why is that? Fear, ladies and gentlemen, fear. We have a courage shortage in this country, not on this program, and not behind the Golden EIB Microphone. But we have a courage shortage to deal with things head on here. But Krzyzewski’s point is right, ‘What are you doing? We’ve got an economy in a mess and you’re picking brackets with ESPN? Get focused, buddy, get focused on what’s important here.’

If this were George Bush and Krzyzewski had done this, that’s all you’d be hearing about. I gotta tell you, if it had been Bush and the Irish prime minister and the teleprompter had told Bush to thank himself, it would be all over the place, but we can’t find the video. We know there’s video, there’s video everywhere all the time of the president and the White House at parties like this, especially with foreign dignitaries. There is no video, there is no audio of Obama’s teleprompter telling Obama to thank himself for throwing a great party. He read the damn thing. He read what the teleprompter told him to say. ‘I wish to thank President Obama, nice party, uhhhh, St. Patrick’s Day. Oh, ho-ho-ho, that was wrong.’ So the teleprompter got a little dig in at President Obama, but there’s no video of it to be found. It’s being suppressed.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: I want to play the audio sound bites, actually, of Obama and Mike Krzyzewski. This is Wednesday on ESPN. Senior college basketball writer Andy Katz interviewing Obama for the NCAA basketball tournament picks, a portion of the interview.

OBAMA: I’ve gotta pick Duke.

KATZ: The whole way, or just right here?

OBAMA: No, no. No, not the whole way, come on.

KATZ: What’s going on in the lower part of the South?

OBAMA: Here’s what I like about Carolina: experience and balance. Now, the Tar Heels that are watching, I picked you all last year, you let me down. This year, don’t embarrass me in front of the nation, all right? I’m counting on you.

RUSH: Now, I have to make an observation here before any other observations. The teleprompter was not there. The teleprompter was not there, and yet I notice that there were no pauses and no stutters, no uhs, when talking about something as meaningless in the big scheme as the NCAA brackets, it’s wham, bam, thank you, ma’am. It’s get in, get it, and get out, without, uh, uh, I think, uh — none of that. And the teleprompter had to be peeved because the teleprompter was not necessary. Obama might have been peeved at the teleprompter and didn’t use the teleprompter on purpose because the teleprompter got back at him by making him thank himself when the Irish prime minister was there at the White House on Shamrock Night for a party. Now, aside from all of that, he says the Tar Heels are watching, I picked you all last year, you let me down. The Tar Heels let him down? How would you feel to be the coach of the Tar Heels? What do you mean, don’t let you down? You think we’re playing this game for you? You think we’re in this tournament to win for you? We’re trying to win for us — of course and our boosters and donors — but we’re trying to win for us. Don’t let you down? This did not sit well with Coach K, the coach at Duke, Mike Krzyzewski, a press conference. He said this about Obama’s remarks, again, which did not come from a teleprompter.

KRZYZEWSKI: Somebody said that, you know, we’re not in President Obama’s Final Four, you know. And as much as I respect what he’s doing, really, you know, the economy is something that he should focus on, you know, probably more than the brackets. And so why would I care about that?

RUSH: All right. This is Coach K. Coach K is revered. Coach K is loved and adored in parts of North Carolina and around the country and he just takes it to Obama here. What are you doing, buddy? You got an economy to fix out there, an economy, by the way, that you’re breaking. You got an economy to fix out there. You’re worried about the brackets and you’re not even picking my team? I think you got something more important to do out there.